Develop Your Sense of Scents: A Guide to Women’s and Men’s Fragrance

BY: Aimee Algas Alker |Mar 4, 2019

Woody, floral, gourmand—we help you discern the notes that make up women’s and men’s fragrance so you can find what you like

Who doesn’t like to smell great? But start strolling or scrolling through a purveyor’s perfume offerings, and it’s easy to get stymied by all the options. So however can you choose a scent you’ll like?

Describing a women’s or men’s fragrance is rather complex, but if you take a tip from perfumers and use their jargon, it helps to simplify things. Perfumers identify perfumes with specific categories that classify their scent. We’ve created a list below, which is extensive, but is by no means comprehensive, and you’ll likely see overlap. For example, is vanilla “gourmand” or “oriental”? This list should help you identify scents you like and those you’d 86 in a heartbeat, so when you’re perusing the aisles, you’ll know what you’re looking for.

Aquatics

The scent of saltwater in the air, the brisk ocean breeze—aquatics are described as “marine” notes. Because of this, they remind people of summer and being at the beach.

Animalics

Rich, musky scents, often characterized as sultry or earthy, they were once derived from animals, but today are typically synthetic. Far from smelling like wet dog, these fragrances have sweet undertones and are thought to trigger primal attraction, much like pheromones.

Types of Fragrance

How long does perfume last? That depends on the formulation and how concentrated it is, which dictates the fragrance’s intensity. Different formulations will have a dramatic effect on the concentration and longevity of the scent, which in turn affects how to apply it properly.

Here are the formulations, from most to least intense (and from longest- to shortest-lasting):

Composition of a Fragrance

A complete fragrance is made up of individual scent notes. Like a symphony, the final product is not merely the sum of its notes, but the way those notes interact with each other. Scent notes fall into one of three categories:

Top notes: what you smell immediately. Top notes are often sharp and distinct, lasting anywhere from a few minutes to an hour after application.

Heart notes: the lingering, most noticeable, and most characteristic notes. Hearts are often smoother and mellower than the top, and generally last four to six hours.

Base notes: often warm and slightly sensual (think woods, amber, vanilla, and musk), base notes come to the fore slowly, possibly many hours after the fragrance is applied.